The narrative of Lunsford Lane, formerly of Raleigh, N. C., embracing an account of his early life, the redemption by purchase of himself and family from slavery, and his banishment from the place of his birth for the crime of wearing a colored skin

E

444

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NARRATIVE

LITN8F0RD LANE.

FOUMEFLY OF

RALEIGH, N C.

!R«f;Isr(5 AN 'crOUNT OF HIS EART,Y-a.rFE, THE P.i:i 'El VTJuN DV P-
rn A.SB CI' HIM.SELF AND FAMILY FKOM t.LAVEffV.

■ ' HT' C INISHMENT PROM THE PLACE OP HIS UTRTH r-MIi 7T(r
ORIME or WEARING A COLORED SKIN

P U B L'l S H E D BY HI M .S T. L V

THIRD EDITION

BOSTON .

PRINTED FOR THE PUBLISHEl'

1TT:a-ES and WATSON'S PRINT.

/Z'^V.Mi y V ^'>^■ '50,...Consn:ess St

VC

L.-.-j3 '^45.

Class P. 4.14.

Book_

NARRATIVE

i'if

LUNSrORD LANE,

FORMERLY OF

RALEIGH, N. C.

EMBRACING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS EARLY LIFE. THE REDEMPTION BY PTHl'
CHASE OF HIMSELF AND FAMILY FROM SLAVERY,

AKD HIS BANISHMENT FROM THE PLACE OF HIS BIRTH FOR THE
CRIME OF WEARING A COLORED SKLN.

PUBLISHED BY HIMSELF.

THIRD EDITION.

BOSTON :

PRINTED FOR THE PUBLISHER:

HEWES AND WATSON's PRINT.

No. 69.... Congress St.
1845.

t-4 4 4-

NOTE TO THE THIRD EDITION.

The rapidity with which the first and second editions of
this work has been sold, renders it necessary to put another
edition to press, without any enlargement or material alte-
ration.

Thanks to those friends who have aided me in the sale
of the former editions, — to those editors who have so fa-
vorably noticed the work, — and to those who have so freely
purchased. May I not justly hope for a continuance of
the same kind regards ?

L. L.

Boston, July 4, 1845.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1842,

BY LUNSFORD LANE,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of IMassachusetts.

3sy

6^

TO THE READER.

The following Narrative has been prepared at the soli-
citation of very many friends. Whatever my own judg-
ment might be, I should yield to theirs. In the hope that
these pages may produce an impression favorable to my
countrymen in bondage ; also that I may realize some-
thing from the sale of my work towards the support of a
numerous family, I have committed this publication to
press. It might have been made two or three, or even six
times larger, without diminishing from the interest of any
one of its peiges — indeed with an increased interest — but the
want of the pecuniary means, and other considerations,
have induced me to present it as here seen.

I have not, in this publication, attempted or desired to
argue anything. It is only a simple narration of such facts
connected with my owti case, as I thought would be most
interesting and instructive to readers generally. The facts
will. I think, cast some light upon the policy of a slave-
holding community, and the effect on the minds of the more
enlightened, the more humane, and the Christian portion
of the southern people, of holding and trading in the bodies
and souls of men.

I have said in the following pages, that my condition as
a slave was comparatively a happy, indeed a highly favor-
ed one ; and to this circumstance is it owing that I have
been able to come up from bondage and relate the story to
the public ; and that my wife, my mother, and my seven
children, are here with me this day. If for anything this
side the invisible world I bless Heaven, it is that I was not
born a plantation slave, nor even a house servant under
what is termed a hard and cruel master.

IV TO THE READER.

It has not been any part of mj^ object to describe slave-
ry generally, and in the narration of my own case I have
dwelt as little as possible upon the dark side — have spoken
mostly of the bright. In whatever I have been obliged to
say unfavorable to others, I have endeavored not to over-
state, but have chosen rather to come short of giving the
full picture — omitting much which it did not seem import-
ant to my object to relate. And yet I would not venture
to say that this publication does not contain a single period
which might be twisted to convey an idea more than
should be expressed.

Those of whom I have had occasion to- speak, are re-
garded, where they are known, as among the most kind
men to their slaves. Mr. Smith, some of whose conduct
wall doubtless seem strange to the reader, is sometimes
taunted with bemg an abolitionist, in consequence of the
interest he manifests towards the colored people. If to
any his character appear like a riddle, they should remem-
ber that men, like other things, have '' two sides," and
often a top and a bottom in addition.

While in the South, I succeeded, by stealth, in learning
to read and wiite a httle, and since I have been in the
North I have learned more. But I need not say that I
have been obliged to employ the ser\-ices of a friend, in
bringing this Narrative into shape for the public eye. And
it should perhaps be said on the part of the writer, that it
has been hastily compiled, w ith little regard to style, only
to express the ideas accurately, and in a manner to be un-
derstood.

LUNSFORD LANE..

Boston, July 4, 18-15, -

NARRATIVE

The small city of Raleigh, North Caroli-
na, it is known, is the capital of the State,
situated in the interior, and containing about
thirty-six hundred inhabitants. Here lived
Mr. Sherwood Haywood, a man of consid-
erable respectability, a planter, and the
cashier of a bank. He owned three plan-
tations, at the distances, respectively, of
seventy-five, thirty, and three miles from
his residence in Raleigh. He owned in all
about two hundred and fifty slaves, among
the rest my mother, who was a house ser-
vant to her master, and of course a resident
in the city. My father was a slave to a
near neighbor. The apartment where I was
born and where I spent my childhood and
youth, was called ••the kitchen,*' situated
some fifteen or twenty rods from the •• great
house." Here the house servants lodged and
lived, and here the meals were prepared for
the people in the mansion. The '•' field
hands," of course, reside upon the planta-
tion.

On the 30th of May, 1S03, I was ushered
into the world ; but I did not begin to see
the rising of its dark clouds, nor fancy how
they might be broken and dispersed, until

6 KARilATIVEc

some time afterwards. My infancy was
spent upon the floor, in a rough cradle, or
sometimes in my mothers arms ; my early
boyhood, in playing Avith the other boys and
girls, colored and white, in the yard, and
occasionally doing such little matters of la-
bor as one of so young years could. I
knew no difference between myself and the
white children ; nor did tiiey seem to know
any in turn. Sometimes my master would
come out and give a biscuit to me, and
another to one of his own white boys ; but
I did not perceive the difference between us.
I had no brothers or sisters, but there were
other colored families living in the same
kitchen, and the children playing in the
same yard, with me and my mother.

When I was ten or eleven years old, my
master set me regularly to cutting wood, in
the yard, in the winter, and working in the
garden in the summer. And when I was
fifteen years of age, he gave me the care of
the pleasure horses, and made me his car-
riage driver; but this did not exempt me
from other labor, especially in the summer.
Early in the morning, I used to take his three
horses to the plantation, and turn them into
the pasture to graze, and myself into the
cotton or cornfield, with a hoe in my hand,
to work through the day ; and after sunset
I would take these horses back to the city, a
distance of three miles, feed them, and then
attend to any other business my master or

MY YOUTH. 7

any of his family had for me to do, until
bed time, when, with my blanket in my
hand, I would go into the dining room to
rest through the night. The next day the
same round of labor would be repeated, un-
less some of the family wished to ride out,
in which case I must be on hand with the
horses to wait upon them, and in the mean-
time to work about the yard. On Sunday I
had to drive to church twice, which, with
other things necessary to be done, took the
whole day. So my life went wearily on
from day to day, from night to night, and
from week to week.

When I began to ^york, I discovered the
difference between myself and my master's
white children. They began to order me
about, and were told to do so by my master
and mistress. I found, too, that they had
learned to read, while I was not permitted
to have a book in my hand. To be in the
possession of anything written or printed,
was regarded as an offence. And then there
was the fear that I might be sold away from
those who were dear to me, and conveyed
to the far south. I had learned, that, being
a slave, I was subject to this worst (to us) of
all calamities ; and I knew of others in sim-
ilar situations to myself, thus sold away.
My friends were not numerous ; but in pro-
portion as they were few they were dear;
and the thought that I might be separated
'from them forever, was like that of having

8 NARRATIVE.

the heart torn from its socket ; while the
idea of being conveyed to the far south
seemed infinitely worse than the terrors of
death. To know, also, that I was never to
consult my own will, but was, while I lived,
to be entirely under the control of another,
was another state of mind hard for me to
bear. Indeed all things now made me feel,
what I had before known only in words,
that / 7vas a slave. Deep was this feeling,
and it preyed upon my heart like a never-
dying worm. I saw no prospect that my
condition v\rould ever be changed. Yet I
used to plan in my mind from day to day,
and from night to night, how I might be
free.

One day, while I was in this state of
mind, my father gave me a small basket of
peaches. I sold them for thirty cents, which
w^as the first money I ever had in my life.
Afterwards I w^on some marbles, and sold
them for sixty cents, and some weeks after,
Mr. Hog, from Fayetteville, came to visit my
master, and on leaving gave me one dollar.
After that, Mr. Bennahan, from Orange
county, gave me a dollar, and a son of my
master fifty cents. These sums, and the
hope that then entered my mind of purchas-
ing at some future time my freedom, made
me long for money : and plans for money-
making took the principal possession of my
thoughts. At night I would steal away
with my axe, get a load of wood to cut for

PLANS FOR FREEDOM. 9

twenty-five cents, and the next morning
hardly escape a whipping for the offence.
But I persevered until I had obtained twenty
dollars. Now I began to think seriously of
becoming able to buy myself; and cheered
by this hope, I went on from one thing to
another, laboring '• at dead of night," after
the long Aveary day's toil for my master was
over, till I found I had collected one hundred
dollars. This sum I kept hid, first in one
place and then in another, as I dare not put
it out, for fear I should lose it.

After this, I lit upon a plan which proved
of great advantage to me. My father sug-
gested a mode of preparing smoking tobacco,
different from any then or since employed.
It had the double advantage of giving the
tobacco a peculiarly pleasant flavor, and of
enabling me to manufacture a good article
out of a very indifferent material. I im-
proved somewhat upon his suggestion, and
commenced the manufacture, doing, as I have
before said, all my work in the night. The
tobacco I put up in papers of about a quar-
ter of a pound each, and sold them at fifteen
cents. But the tobacco could not be smoked
without a pipe, and as I had given the
former a flavor peculiarly grateful, it occur-
red to me that I might so construct a pipe as
to cool the smoke in passing through it, and
thus meet the wishes of those who are more
fond of smoke than heat. This I eflected by
means of a reed, which grows plentifully in

10 NARRATIVE.

that region : I made a passage through tht
reed with a hot wire, pohshed it, and at-
tached a clay pipe to the end, so that the
smoke should be cooled in flowing through
the stem, like whiskey or rum in passing
from the boiler through the worm of the
still. These pipes I sold at ten cents a-piece.
In the early part of the night I would sell
my tobacco and pipes, and manufacture
them in the latter part. As the Legislature
sat in Raleigh every year, I sold these arti-
cles considerably to the members, so that I
became known not only in the city, but in
many parts of the State, as a tobacconist.

Perceiving that I was getting along so
well, I began, slave as I was, to think about
taking a wife. So I fixed my mind upon
Miss Lucy Williams, a slave of Thomas
Devereaux, Esq., an eminent lawyer in the
place : but failed in my undertaking. Then
I thought I never would marry ; but at the
end of two or three years my resolution be-
gan to slide away, till finding I could not
keep it longer, I set out once more in pursuit
of a wife. So I fell in with her to whom I
am now united, Miss Martha Curtis, and
the bargain between us was completed. I
next went to her master, Mr. Boylan, and
asked him, according to the custom, if I
might '' marry his woman." His reply was,
"Yes. if you will behave yourself" I told
him I would. '-And make her behave her-
self?" To this I also assented: a.r»H thon

MARRIAGE. 11

proceeded to ask the approbation of my mas-
ter, which was granted. So in May, 1828,
I was bomid as fast in wedlock as a slave
can be. God may at any time sunder that
band in a freeman ; either master may do
the same at pleasure in a slave. The bond
is not recognized in law. But in my case it
has never been broken ; and now it cannot
be, except by a higher power.

When we had been married nine months
and one day, we were blessed with a son,
and two years afterwards with a daughter.
My wife also passed from the hands of Mr.
Boylan, into those of Mr. Benjamin B. Smith,
a merchant, a member and class-leader in
the methodist church, and in much repute
for his deep piety and devotion to religion.
But grace (of course,) had not wrought in
the same manner upon the heart of Mr.
Smith, as nature had done upon that of Mr.
Boylan, who made no religious profession.
This latter gentleman used to give my wife,
who was a favorite slave, (her mother nursed
every one of his own children,) sufficient
food and clothing to render her comfortable,
60 that I had to spend for her but little, ex-
cept to procure such small articles of extra
fcomfort as I was prompted to from time to
|:ime. Indeed, Mr. Boylan was regarded as
£l very kind master to all the slaves about
him, — that is, to his house servants ; nor did
fie personally inflict much cruelty, if any,
pon his field hands. The overseer on his

12 NARRATIVE.

nearest plantation (I know but little about
the rest,) Avas a very cruel man ; in one in-
stance, as it was said among the sla.ves, he
whipped a man to death : but of course he de-
nied that the man died in consequence of the
whipping. Still it was the choice of my
wife to pass into the hands of Mr. Smith, as
she had become attached to him in conse-
quence of belonging to the same church,
and receiving his religious instruction and
counsel as her class-leader, and in conse-
quence of the peculiar devotedness to the
cause of religion for which he was noted,
and which he always seemed to manifest.
But when she became his slave, he withheld
both from her and her children, the needful
food and clothing, while he exacted from
them to the uttermost all the labor they were
able to perform. Almost every article of
clothing worn either by my wife or children,
especially every article of much value, I had
to purchase ; while the food he furnished
the family amounted to less than a meal a
day, and that of the coarser kind. I have
no remembrance that he ever gave us a
blanket, or any other article of bedding,
although it is considered a rule at the south
that the master shall furnish each of his
slaves with one blanket a year. So that,
both as to food and clothing, 1 had in fact to
support both my wife and the children,
while he claimed them as his property, and
received all their labor. She was a house

TREATMENT OF MY FAMILY. 13

servant to Mr. Smith, sometimes cooked the
food for his family, and usually took it from
the table ; but her mistress was so particular
in giving it out to be cooked, or so watched
it, that she always knew whether it was all
returned ; and when the table was cleared
away, the stern old lady would sit by and
see that every dish (except the very little
she would send into the kitchen,) was put
away, and then she would turn the key upon
it, so as to be sure her slaves should not die
of gluttony. This practise is common with
some families in that region, but with others
it is not. It was not so in that of her less
pious master, Mr. Boylan, nor was it pre-
cisely so at my master's. We used to have
corn bread enough, and some meat. When
I was a boy, the pot-liquor, in which the
meat was boiled for the ''great house," to-
gether with some little corn-meal balls that
had been thrown in just before the meat Avas
done, was poured into a tray and set in the
middle of the yard, and a clam-shell or pew-
ter spoon given to each of us children, who
would fall upon the delicious fare as greedi-
ly as pigs. It was not generally so much as
we wanted; consequently it was customary
for some of the white persons who saw us
from the piazza of the house where they
were sitting, to order the more stout and
greedy ones to eat slower, that those more
young and feeble might have a chance. But
it was not so with Mr. Smith ; such luxu-
b

14 NARRATIVE.

ries were more than he could afford, kind
and Christian man as he was considered to
be. So that by the expense of providing for
my wife and children, all the money I had
earned, and could earn, by my night labor,
was consumed, till I found myself reduced
to five dollars, and this I lost one day in go-
ing to the plantation. My light of hope now
went out. My prop seemed to have given
way from under me. Sunk in the very
nigiit of despair respecting my freedom, I
discovered myself, as though I had never
known it before, a husband, the father of
two children, a family looking up to me for
bread, and I a slave, penniless, and well
watched by my master, his wife, and his
children, lest I should, perchance, catch the
friendly light of the stars to make some-
thing in order to supply the cravings of na-
ture in those with whom my soul was bound
up : or lest some plan of freedom might lead
me to trim the light of diligence after the
day's labor was over, while the rest of the
world were enjoying the hours in pleasure or
sleep.

At this time an event occiQ*red, which,
while it cast a cloud over the prospects of
some of my fellow slaves, v/as a rainbow
over mine. My master died : and his widow,
by the will, became sole executrix of his
property. To the surprise of all, the bank
of which he had been cashier, presented
a claim against the estate for forty thou-

LABORING FOR FREEDOM. 15

sand dollars. By a compromise, this sum
was reduced to twenty thousand dollars ;
and my mistress, to meet the amount, sold
some of her slaves, and hired out others. I
hired my time of her,^^ for which I paid her
a price varying from one hundred dollars to
one hundred and twenty dollars per year.
This was a privilege which comparatively
few slaves at the south enjoy ; and in this I
felt truly blessed.

I commenced the manufacture of pipes
and tobacco on an enlarged scale. I opened
a regular place of business, labelled my to-
bacco in a conspicuous manner with the
names of ^^ Edward and Lunsford Lane^^'
and of some of the persons who sold it for
me, — establishing agencies for the sale in
various parts of the State, one at Fayette-
ville, one at Salisbury, one at Chapel Hill, and
so on, — sold my articles from my place of
business, and about town, also deposited them
in stores on commission; and thus, after pay-
ing my mistress for my time, and rendering
such support as was necessary to my family,

* It is contrary to the laws of the State for a slave to
have command of his own time in this way, but in Raleigh
it is sometimes winked at. I knew one slave-man, who
was doing ivell for himself, taken up by the public author-
ities and hired out for the public good, three times in suc-
cession for this ofience. The time of hiring in such a case
is one year. The master is subject to a fine. But gener-
ally, as I have said, if the slave is orderly, and appears to
be making; nothing, neither he nor the master is interfered
With.

16 NARRATIVE.

I found ill the space of some six or eight
years, that I had coUected the sum of one
thousand dollars. During this time I had
found it politic to go shabbily dressed, and
to appear to be very poor, but to pay my
mistress for my services promptly. I kept
my money hid, never venturing to put out a
penny, nor to let any body but my wife
know that I was making any. The thousand
dollars was Avhat I supposed my mistress
would ask for me, and so I determined now
what I would do.

I went to my mistress and inquired what
was her price for me. She said a thousand
dollars. I then told her that I wanted to be
free, and asked her if she would sell me to
be made free. She said she would ; and
accordingly I arranged with her, and with
the master of my wife, Mr. Smith, already
spoken of. for the latter to take my money*
and buy of her my freedom, as I could not
legally purchase it, and as the laws forbid
emancipation, except for " meritorious ser-
vices." This done, Mr. Smith endeavored
to emancipate me formally, and to get my
manumission recorded ; I tried also ; but the
court judged that I had done nothing ''meri-

* Legally J my money belonged to my mistress ; and
she could have taken it and refused to grant me my free-
dom. But she was a very kind woman for a slave o^Tier ;
and she would under the circumstances scorn to do such
a thing. I have known of slaves, however, served in this
way.

BECOMING FREE. 17

torious," and so I remained, nominally only,
the slave of Mr. Smith for a year ; when,
feeling unsafe in that relation, I accompa-
nied him to New York, whither he was
going to purchase goods, and was there reg-
ularly and formally made a freeman, and
there my manumission was recorded. I re-
turned to my family in Raleigh, and endeav-
ored to do by them as a freeman should. I
had known what it was to be a slave, and I
knew what it was to be free.

But I am going too rapidly over my story.
When the money was paid to my mistress
and the conveyance fairly made to Mr.
Smith, I felt that I was free. And a queer
and a joyous feeling it is to one who has
been a slave. I cannot describe it, only it
seemed as though I was in heaven. I used
to lie awake whole nights thinking of it.
And oh, the strange thoughts that passed
through my soul, like so many rivers of
light ; deep and rich were their waves as
they rolled : — these were more to me than
sleep, more than soft slumber after long
months of watching over the decaying,
fading frame of a friend, and the loved one
laid to rest in the dust. But I cannot de-
scribe my feelings to those who have never
been slaves : then why should I attempt it '?
He who has passed from spiritual death to
life, and received the witness within his soul
that his sins are forgiven, may possibly form
some distant idea, like the ray of the setting
b2

18 NARRATIVE.

sun from the far off mountain top, of the
emotions of an emancipated slave. That
opens heaven. To break the bonds of
slavery, opens up at once both earth and
heaven. Neither can be truly seen by us
while we are slaves.

And now will the reader take with me a
brief review of the road I had trodden. I
cannot here dwell upon its dark shades,
though some of these were black as the pen-
cillings of midnight, but upon the light, that
had followed my path from my infancy up,
and had at length conducted me quite out
of the deep abyss of bondage. There is a
hymn opening with the following stanza,
which very much expresses my feelings :

'' When all thy mercies, Oh my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise."

I had endured what a freeman would in-
deed call hard fare ; but my lot, on the
whole, had been a favored one for a slave.
It is known that there is a wide difference
in the situations of what are termed house
servants, and plantation hands. I, though
sometimes employed upon the plantation,
belonged to the former, which is the favored
class. My master, too, was esteemed a
kind and humane man ; and altogether I
fared quite differently from many poor fel-

PLANTATION SLAVES. 19

lows v.^hom it makes my blood run chill to
think of. confined to the plantation, with not
enough of food and that little of the coarsest
kind, to satisfy the gna wings of hmiger. —
compelled oftentimes, to hie away in the
night-time, when worn down with work,
and steal, (if it be stealing.) and privately
devour such things as they can lay their
hands upon. — made to feel the rigors of
bondage with no cessation, — torn away
sometimes iVom the fev^ friends they love,
friends doubly dear because they are few,
and transported to a climate where in a few-
hard years they die, — or at best conducted
heavily and sadly to their resting place un-
der the sod, upon their old master^ s planta-
tion,— sometimes, perhaps, enlivenmg the
air with merriment, but a forced merriment,
that comes from a stagnant or a stupefied
heart. Such as this is the fate of the plan-
tation slaves generally, but such was not my
lot. My way was comparatively light, and
what is better, it conducted to freedom.
And my wife and children were with me.
After my master died, my mistress sold a
number of her slaves from their families
and friends — but not me. She sold several
children from their parents — but my children
were with me still. She sold tvro husbands
from their wives — but I was still with mine.
She sold one wife from her husband — but
mine had not been sold from me. The mas-
ter of my wife, Mr. Smith, had separated

20 NARRATIVE.

members of families by sale — but not of
mine. With me and my house, the tenderer
tendrils of the heart still clung to where the
vine had entwined : pleasant was its shade
and delicious its fruits to our taste, though
we knew, and what is more, \yq felt that we
were slaves. But all around I could see
where the vine had been torn down, and its
bleeding branches told of vanished joys, and
of new wrought sorrows, such as, slave
though I .was, had never entered into my
practical experience.

I had never been permitted to learn to
read ; but I used to attend church, and there
I received instruction which I trust was of
some benefit to me. I trusted, too, that I
had experienced the renewing influences of
the gospel ; and after obtaining from my
mistress a written pei^mit. (a thing always
required in such a case,) I had been bap-
tised and received into fellowship with the
Baptist denomination. So that in religious
matters, I had been indulged in the exercise
of my own conscience — a favor not always
granted to slaves. Indeed I, with others,
was often told by the minister how good
God Avas in bringing us over to this country
from dark and benighted Africa, and per-
mitting us to listen to the sound of the gos-
pel. To me, God also granted temporal free-
dom, which man without God's consent, had
stolen away.

I often heard select portions of the scrip-

RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGES. 21

tures read. And on the Sabbath there was
one sermon preached expressly for the color-
ed people which it was generally my privi-
lege to hear. I became quite familiar with
the texts, " Servants be obedient to your
masters.'* — ^' Not with eye service as men
pleasers." — " He that knoweth his master's
will and doeth it not, shall be beaten with
many stripes," and others of this class : for
they formed the basis of most of these pub-
lic instructions to us. The first command-
ment impressed upon our minds was to obey
our masters, and the second was like unto
it, namely, to do as much work when they
or the overseers were not watching us as
when they were. But connected with these
instructions there was more or less that
was truly excellent ; though mixed up with
much that wo aid sound strangely in the
ears of freedom. There was one very kind
hearted Episcopal minister whom I often
used to hear ; he was very popular with the
colored people. But after he had preached
a sermon to us in which he argued from the
Bible that it was the will of heaven from all
eternity we should be slaves, and our mas-
ters be our owners, most of lis left him ; for
like some of the faint hearted disciples in
early times Ave said, — '' This is a hard say-
ing, who can bear it?"

My manumission, as I shall call it — that
is, the bill of sale conveying me to Mr.
Smith, was dated Sept. 9th, 1835. I contin-

22 NARRATIVE.

ued in the tobacco and pipe business as al-
ready described, to which I added a small
trade in a variety of articles : and some two
years before I left Raleigh. I entered also
into a considerable business in wood, which
I used to purchase by the acre standing,
cut it, haul it into the city, deposit it in a
yard and sell it out as I advantageously
could. Also I was employed about the office
of the Governor, as I shall hereafter relate.
I used to keep one or two horses, and va-
rious vehicles, by which I did a variety of
work at hauling about town. Of course I
had to hire more or less help, to carry on
my business.

In the manufacture of tobacco I met with
considerable competition, but none that ma-
terially injured me. The method of prepar-
ing it having originated with me and my
father, we found it necessary, in order to
secure the advantage of the invention, to
keep it to ourselves, and decline, though
often solicited, going into partnership with
others. Those who undertook the manufac-
ture could neither give the article a flavor
so pleasant as ours, nor manufacture it so
cheaply, so they either failed in it, or suc-
ceeded but poorly.

Not long after obtaining my own freedom,
I began seriously to think about purchasing
the freedom of my family. The first propo-
sition was that I should buy my wife, and
that we should jointly labor to obtain the

BARGAIN FOR MY FAMILY. 23

freedom of the children afterwards, as we
were able. But that idea was abandoned
when her master, Mr. Smith, refused to sell
her to me for less than one thousand dollars,
a sum which then appeared too much for me
to raise.

Afterwards, however, I conceived the idea
of purchasmg at once the entire family. I
went to Mr. Smith to learn his price, which
he put at three thousand dollars for my wife
and six children, the number we then had.
This seemed a large sum, both because it
was a great deal for me to raise, and also
because Mr. Smith, when he bought my wife
and two children, had actually paid but five
hundred and sixty dollars for them, and had
received, ever since, their labor, while I had
almost entirely supported them, both as to
food and clothing. Altogether, therefore,
the case seemed a hard one, but as I was
entirely in his power I must do the best I
could. At length he concluded, perhaps
partly of his own motion, and partly through
the persuasion of a friend, to sell the family
for $2,500, as I wished to free them, though
he contended still that they were worth
three thousand dollars. Perhaps they would
at that time have brought this larger sum,
if sold for the Southern market. The ar-
rangement with Mr. Smith was made in
December, 1838. I gave him five notes of
five hundred dollars each, the first due in
January, 1840, and one in January each

24 NARRATIVE.

succeeding year ; for which he transferred
my family into my own possession, with a
bond to give me a bill of sale when I should
pay the notes. With this arrangement, we
found ourselves living in our own house, — a
house which I had previously purchased, — ■
in January, 1839.

After moving my family, my wife was for
a short time sick, in consequence of her la-
bor and the excitement in moving, and her
excessive joy. I told her that it reminded
me of a poor shoemaker in the neighbor-
hood, who purchased a ticket in a lottery ;
but not expecting to draw, the fact of his
purchasing it had passed out of his mind.
But one day as he was at work on his last,
he was informed that his ticket had drawn
the liberal prize of ten thousand dollars : and
the poor man was so overjoyed, that he fell
back on his seat, and immediately expired.

In this new and joyful situation we found
ourselves getting along very v/ell, until Sep-
tember, 1840, when, to my surprise, as I was
passing the street one day, engaged in my
l3usiness, the following note was handed me.
" Read it," said the officer, " or if you can-
not read, get some white man to read it to
you." Here it is, verbatim :

To Lmisford Lane, a free man of Color :

Take notice, that whereas complaint has been made to
ITS, two Jvistices of the Peace for the county of Wake and
State of North Carolina, that you are a free negro from
another State, who has migrated into this State contrary to

NOTIFIED TO LEAVE THE STATE. 25

the provisions of the act of assembly concerning free ne-
groes and raulattoes, now notice is given you that unless
you leave and remove out of this State within twenty days,
that you will be proceeded against for the penalty prescribed
by said act of assembly, and be otherwise dealt with as the
law directs. Given under our hands and seals this the 5th
Sept. 1840. WILLIS SCOTT, JP (Seal)

JORDAN WOMBLE, JP (Seal).

This was a terrible blow to me, for it
prostrated at once all my hopes in my cher-
ished object of obtaining the freedom of my
family, and led me to expect nothing but a
separation from them forever.

In order that the reader may understand
the full force of the foregoing notice, I will
copy the law of the State under which it was
issued :

Sec. 65. It shall not be lawful for any free negro or
mulatto to migrate into this State : and if he or she shall
do so, contrary to the provisions of this act, and being
thereof informed, shall not, within twenty days thereafter,
remove out of the State, he or she being thereof convicted
in the manner hereafter directed, shall be liable to a pen-
alty of five hundred dollars ; and upon failure to pay the
same, within the time prescribed in the judgment awarded
against such person or persons, he or she shall be liable to
be held in servitude and at labor a term of time not ex-
ceeding ten years, in such manner and upon such terms
as may be provided by the court awarding such sentence,
and the proceeds arising therefrom shall be paid over to
the county trustee for county purposes : Provided, that
in case any free negro or mulatto shall pay the penalty of
five hundred dollars, according to the provisions of this act,
it shall be the duty of such free negro or mulatto to re-
move him or herself out of this State within twenty days
thereafter, and for every such failure, he or she shall be
c

26 NARRATIVE.

subject to the like penalty as is prescribed for a failure to
remove in the first instance. — Eevised Statutes North Caro
Una, chop. 111.

The next section provides that if the free
person of color so notified, does not leave
within the twenty days after receiving the
notice, he may be arrested on a warrant from
any Justice, and be held to bail for his ap-
pearance at the next county court, when he
Avill be subject to the penalties specified
above : or in case of his failure to give bonds,
he may be sent to jail.

I made known my situation to my friends,
and after taking legal counsel, it was deter-
mined to induce, if possible, the complain-
ants to prosecute no farther at present, and
then as the Legislature of the State was to
sit in about two months, to petition that
body for permission to remain in the State
until I could complete the purchase of my
family; after which I was willing, if neces-
sary, to leave.

From January 1st, 1837, I had been em-
ployed, as I have mentioned, in the office of
the Governor of the State, principally under
the direction of his private Secretary, in
keeping the ofiice in order, taking the letters
to the Post Office, and doing such other du-
ties of the sort as occurred from time to time.
This circumstance, with the fact of the high
standing in the city of the family of my
former master, and of the former masters of
my wife, had given me the friendship of the

EFFORTS TO RE.AIAIX. 27

first people in the place generally, who from
that time forward acted towards me the
friendly part.

Mr. Battle, then private Secretary to
Governor Dudley, addressed the following
letter to the prosecuting attorney in my be-
half:

Raleigh, Nov. 3, 1840.

Dear Sie, : — Lunsford Lane, a free man of color, has
been in the employ of the State under me since my enter-
ing on my present situation. I understand that under a
law of the State, he has been notihed to leave, and that
the time is now at hand.

In the discharge of the duties I had from him, I have
found him prompt, obedient and faithful. At this particu-
lar time, his absence to me would be much regretted, as I
am now just fixing up my books and other papers in the
new office, and I shall not have time to learn another a\ hat
he can already do so well. "With me the period of the
Legislature is a very busy one, and I am compelled to
ha\'e a servant who understands the business I want done,
and one I can trust. I would not wish to be an obstacle
in the execution of any law, but the enforcing of the one
against him will be doing me a serious inconvenience,
and the object of this letter is to ascertain whether I could
not procure a suspension of the sentence till after the ad-
journment of the Legislature, say about 1st January, 1841,

1 should feel no hesitation in giving my word that he
will conduct himself orderly and obediently.
I am, most respectfully,

Your obedient serv'ant,

C. C. BATTLE.
G. TV. Haywood, Esq.,

Attorney at Law, Raleigh, iV. C.

To the above letter the following reply
was made :

28

NARRATIVE.

Raleigh, Nov. 3, 1840.

My Dear Sir : — I have no objection, so far as I am
concerned, that all further proceedings against Lunsford
should be postponed until after the adjournment of the
Legislature.

The process now out against him is one issued by two
magistrates, Messrs. Willis Scott and Jordan Womble, over
which I have no control. You had better see them to-day,
and perhaps, at your request, they will delay further action
on the subject. Respectfully yours,

GEO." W. HAYWOOD.

Mr. Battle then enclosed the foregoing
correspondence to Messrs. Scott and Wom-
ble, requesting their " favorable considera-
tion." They returned the correspondence,
but neglected to make any reply.

In consequence, however, of this action on
the part of my friends, I was permitted to
remain without further interruption, until
the day the Legislature commenced its ses-
sion. On that day a warrant was served
upon me, to appear before the county court,
to answer for the sin of having remained in
the place of my birth for the space of twenty
days and more after being warned out. I
escaped going to jail through the kindness of
Mr. Haywood, a son of my former master,
and Mr. Smith, who jointly became security
for my appearance at court.

This was on Monday ; and on Wednes-
day I appeared before the court ; but as my
prosecutors were not ready for the trial, the
case was laid over three months, to the next
term.

EFFORTS TO REMAIN. 29'

I then proceeded to get up a petition to
the Legislature. It required much hard la-
bor and persuasion on my part to start it ;
hut after that, I readily obtained the signa-
tures of the principal men in the place.
Then I went round to the members, many
of whom were known to me, calling upon
them at their rooms, and urging them for
my sake, for humanity's sake, for the sake
of my Avife and little ones, whose hopes had
been excited by the idea that they were even
now free ; I appealed to them as husbands,
fathers, brothers, sons, to vote in favor of
my petition, and allow me to remain in the
State long enough to purchase my family.
I was doing well in business, and it would
be but a short time before I could accomplish
the object. Then, if it was desired, I and
my wife and children, redeemed from bond-
age, would together seek a more friendly
home, beyond the dominion of slavery. The
following is the petition presented, endorsed
as the reader will see :

To tneHon/Gmrr^AssemNu'qii'fih Siate^p North Cawlina^

a^j^imiimatfif:^ mitim^y^i'^^m^m^l Line .ki^WiMji

30 NARRATIVE.

he can remove his family also. Your petitioner will give
bond and good security for his good behavior while he re-
mains. Your petitioner will ever pray, &:c.

LUNSFORD LANE.

The undersigned are well acquainted with Lunsford
Lane, the petitioner, and join in his petition to the Assem-
bly for relief.

Charles Manly, Drury Lacy,

B. W. Haywood, Will. Peck,

Eleanor Haywood, W. A. Stith,

William Hill, A. B. Stith,

R. Smith, ^ J. Brown,

William Peace, ' William White,

Jos. Peace, George Simpson,

William M'Pheeters, Jno. L Christophers,

William Boylan, John Primrose,

Fabius J. Haywood, Hugh M'Queen,

D. W. Stone, Alex. J. Lawrence,

T. Merideth, C. L. Hinton.

A. J. Battle,

Lunsford Lane, the petitioner herein, has been servant
to the Executive Office since the 1st of January, 1837, and
it gives me pleasure to state that, during the whole time,
without exception, I have found him faithful and obedient,
in keeping every thing committed to his care in good con-
dition. From what I have seen of his conduct and de-
meanor, I cheerfully join in the petition for his relief.

C. C. BATTLE, P. Secretary to Gov. Dudley.
Raleigh, Nov. 20, 1840.

The foregoing petition was presented to
the Senate. It Avas there referred to a com-
mittee. I knew when the committee was
to report, and watched about the State
House that I might receive the earhest news
of the fate of my petition. I should have
gone within the senate chamber, but no col-
ored man has that permission. I do not
know why, unless for fear he may hear the
name of Liberty. By and by a member

EFFORTS TO REMAIN. 31

came out, and as he passed me, said, ^'Well,
Liinsford^ they have laid you out; the nigger
bill is killed J ^ I need not tell the reader
that my feelings did not enter into the mer-
riment of this honorable senator. To me,
the fate of my petition was the last blow to
my hopes. I had done all I could do, had
said all I could say, laboring night and day,
to obtain a favorable reception to my peti-
tion ; but all in vain. Nothing appeared
before me but I must leave the State, and
leave my wife and my children, never to see
them more. My friends had also done all
they could for me.

And why must I be banished ? Ever af-
ter I entertained the first idea of being free,
I had endeavored so to conduct myself as
not to become obnoxious to the white inhab-
itants, knowing as I did their power, and
their hostility to the colored people. The
two points necessary in such a case I had
kept constantly in mind. First, I had made
no display of the little property or money I
possessed, but in every way I wore as much
as possible the aspect of poverty. Second,
I had never appeared to be even so intelli-
gent as I really was. This all colored peo-
ple at the south, free and slaves, find it pe-
culiarly necessary to their own comfort and
safety to observe.

I should, perhaps, have mentioned that
on the same day I received the notice to
leave Raleigh, similar notices were present-

32 NARRATIVE,

ed to two other free colored people, who had
been slaves; were trying to purchase their
families : and were otherwise in a like situ-
ation to myself. And they took the same
course I did to endeavor to remain a limited
time. Isaac Hunter, who had a family with
five children, was one ; and Waller Free-
man, who had six children, was the other.
Mr. Hunter's petition went before mine ; and
a bill of some sort passed the Senate, which
was so cut down in the Commons, as to al-
low him only twenty days to remain in the
State. He has since, however, obtained the
freedom of his family, who are living with
him in Philadelphia.

Mr. Freeman's petition received no better
fate than mine. His family were the prop-
erty of Judge Badger, who was afterwards
made a member of Mr. Harrison's cabinet.
When Mr. Badger removed to Yv^ashington,
he took with him among other slaves this
family : and Freeman removed also to that
(iit^fencMt^ t-^i^c}j^^^n,ijMrt.xS- resigned his

n^tio¥$lier .^^f-^^^itoTjrJ^g Jig^ff n^^^o^^^
ti^, V(^tMi lT#jTteQkb^eo9F^st;|p/o^it%^jM^

^i jtib'Bf^Qigivo 'Wmwim'^immmii^i^mYrb

oring to raise money to mak§^;fej^cg^i^9"h^s^j>g

LEAVING THE STATE. 33

State. I was bound to appear before the
court; but it had been arranged between my
lawyer and the prosecuting attorney, that if
I would leave the State, and pay the costs of
court, the case should be dropped, so that
my bondsmen should not be involved. I
therefore concluded to stay as long as I pos-
sibly could, and then leave. I also deter-
mined to appeal to the kindness of the friends
of the colored man in the north, for assist-
ance, though I had but little hope of suc-
ceeding in this way. Yet it was the only
course I could think of, by which I could
see any possible hope of accomplishing the
object.

I had paid Mr. Smith six hundred and
twenty dollars, and had a house and lot
worth five hundred dollars, which he had
promised to take when I had raised the bal-
ance. He gave me also a bill of sale of one of
my children, Laura, in consideration of two
hundred and fifty dollars of the money already
paid ; and her I determined to take with me
to the north. The costs of court, which I
had to meet, amounted to between thirty and
forty dollars, besides the fee of my lawyer.

On the 18th of May, 1841, three days af-
ter the court commenced its session, I bid
adieu to my friends in Raleigh, and set out
for the city of New York. I took with me
a letter of introduction and recommendation
from Mr. John Primrose, a very estimable
man, a recommendatory certificate from Mr.

34^. NARRATIVE.

Battle, and a letter from the church of which
I was a member, together with such papers
relating to the aflair as I had in my posses-
sion. Also I received the following :

Raleigh, N. C, May, 1841.
The bearer, Lunsford Lane, a free man of color, for
some time a resident in this place, being about to leave
North Carolina in search of a more favorable location to
pursue his trade, has desired us to give him a certiiicate of
his good conduct heretofore.

We take pleasure in saying that his habits are temperate
and industrious, that his conduct has been orderly and
proper, and that he has for these qualities been distin-
guished among his caste.

William Hill, R. Smith,

Weston R. Gales, C. Dewey.

C. L. Hinton.

The above was certified to officially in the
usual form, by the clerk of the Court of Com-
mon Pleas and Quarter Sessions.

My success in New York was at first
small ; but at length I fell in with two friends
who engaged to raise for me three hundred
dollars, provided I should first obtain from
other sources thQ balance of the sum required,
which balance would be one thousand and
eighty dollars. Thus encouraged, I pro-
ceeded to Boston ; and in the city and vi-
cinity the needful sum was contributed by
about the 1st of April, 1842. My thanks I
have endeavored to express in my poor way
to the many friends who so kindly and lib-
erally assisted me. I cannot reward them ;
I hope they will receive their reward in
another world. If the limits of this publi-

AT BOSTON. 35

cation would permit, I should like to record
the names of many to whom I am very es-
pecially indebted for their kindness and aid,
not only in contributing, but in introducing
me, and opening various ways of access, to
others.

On the 5th of February, 1842, finding that
I should soon have in my possession the sum
necessary to procure my family, and fearing
that there might be danger in visiting Ra-
leigh for that purpose, in consequence of the
strong opposition of many of the citizens
against colored people, their opposition to
me, and their previously persecuting me
from the city, I wrote to Mr. Smith, request-
ing him to see the Governor, and obtain, un-
der his hand, a permit to visit the State for a
sufficient time to accomplish this business. I
requested Mr. Smith to publish the permit in
one or two of the city papers, and then to
enclose the original to me. This letter he
answered; under date of Raleigh, 19th Feb.
J 842, as follows:

LuNSFORD : — Your letter of the 5th inst. came duly to
hand, and in reply I have to inform you, that owing to the
absence of Gov. Morehead, I cannot send you the permit
you requested, but this will make no difference, for you can
come home, and after your arrival you can obtain one to
remain long enough to settle up your affairs. You ought
of course to apply to the Governor immediately on your
arrival, before any malicious person would have time to
inform against you ; I don't think by pursuing this course
you need apprehend any danger. * * * *

We are all alive at present in Raleigh on the subjects of
temperance and religion. We have taken into the tempe-

36 NARRATIVE.

ranee societies about five hundred members, and about fifty
persons have been happily converted. * * * The work
seems still to be spreading, and such a time I have never
seen before in my lite. Gforious times truly.

Do try to get all the religion in your heart you possibly
can, for it is the only thing worth having after all.

Your, c\:c. B. B. SMITH.

The way now appeared to be in a measure
open ; also I thought that the rehgious and
temperance mterest mentioned in the latter
portion of Mr. Smith" s letter, augured a state
of feeling which would be a protection to me.
But fearing still that there might be danger
in visiting Raleigh without the permit from
the Governor, or at least wishing to take
every possible precaution, I addressed anoth-
er letter to Mr. Smith, and received under
date of March 12th, a reply, from v.^hich I
copy as follows :

^' The Governor has just returned, and I called upon him
to get the peiTnit, as you requested, but he said he had no
authority by law to grant one ; and he told vie to say to you
that you might in perfect safety come home in a quiet manner,
and remain twenty days without being interrupted. I also
consulted IMr. ]Manly, (a lawyer,) and he told me the same
thing. * * *= Surely you need not fear any thing under
these circtimsta7ices. You had therefore better come on just as
soon as possible.-'

I need not say, what the reader has al-
ready seen, that my life so far had been one
of joy succeeding sorrov/, and sorrow follow-
ing joy ; of hope, of despair, of bright pros-
pects, of gloom; and of as many hues as
ever appear on the varied sky, from the
black of midnight, or of the deep brown of a

VISIT TU RALEIGH. 37

tempest, to the bright warm glow of a clear
noon day. On the 11th of April, it was noon
with me : I iei't Boston on my wav for Ra-
leigh with higli hopes, mtending to pay over
the money for my family and return with
them to Boston, which I designed should be
my future home : for there I had found
friends, and there I would find a grave. The
visit I was making to the south was to be a
farewell one : and I did not dream that my
old cradle, hard as it once had jostled me,
would refuse to rock me a pleasant, or even
an affectionate good bye. I thought, too,
that the assurances I had received from the
Governor, through Mr. Smith, and the as-
surances of other friends, were a sufficient
guaranty that 1 might visit the liome of my
boyhood, of my youth, of my manhood, in
peace, especially as I was to stay but for a
lew days and then to return. With these
thouglits, and with the thoughts of my fam-
ily and freedom, I pursued my way to Ra-
leigh, and arrived there on the 23d of the
month. It was Saturday, about four o'clock,
P. M., when I found myself once more in the
midst of my family. With them I remained
over the Sabbath, as it was sweet to spend
a little time with them after so long an ab-
sence, an absence filled with so much of in-
terest to us, and as I could not do any busi-
ness until the beginning of the week. On
Monday morning, between eight and nine
o'clock, while f was making ready to leave
3

38 NARRATIVE.

the house for ilie tirst lime after my arrival,
to go to the store of Mr. Smith, where I was
to transact my business with liim, two con-
stables, Messrs. Murray and Scott, entered,
accompanied by two other men, and sum-
moned me to appear immediately before the
police. I accordingly accompanied them to
the Chy Hall, but as it was locked and the
officers could not at once find the key, we
were told that the court would be held in
Mr. Smith's .store, a large and commodious
room. This was what is termed in common
phrase, in Raleigh, a ''call court.'- The
Mayor. Mr. Loring, presided, assisted by
William Boylan and Jonathan Busbye, Esqs.,
Justices of the Peace. There were a large
number of people togetlier — more than could
obtain admission to the room — and a large
company of mobocratic spirits crowded
around the door. Mr. Loring read the writ,
setting forth that I had been guilty of deliv-
ering abolition lectures in the State of Massa-
chusetts. He asked me whether I was guilty
or not guilty. I told him I did not know
whether I had given abolition lectures or
not, but if it pleased the court, I would re-
late the course 1 had pursued during my ab-
sence from Raleigh. He then said that I
was at liberty to speak.

The circumstances under which I left
Raleigh, said I, are perfectly familiar to you.
It is known that I had no disposition to re-
move from this city, but resorted to every

BEFORE THE COURT. 39

hiwful means to remain. After I lonnd that
I could not be permitted to stay, 1 went
away, leaving behind everything I held dear,
with the exception of one child, whom I
took with me, after paying two hundred
and fifty dollars for her. It is also known
to you and to many other persons here pres-
ent, that 1 had engaged to purchase my
wife and children of their master, Mr. JSmith,
for the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars,
and that I had paid of this sum (including
my house and lot,) eleven lumdred and
twenty dollars, leaving a balance to be made
up of thirteen hundred and eighty dollars.
I had previously to that lived in Raleigh, a
slave, the property of Mr. Sherwood Hay-
wood, and had purchased my freedom by
paying tlie sum of one thousand dollars.
But being driven away, — no longer permitted
to live in this city to raise the balance of
the money due on my family,— my last re-
sort was to call upon the friends of humani-
ty in other places, to assist me.

1 went to the city of Boston, and there I
related the story oi' my persecutions here,
the same as I have now stated to you. The
people gave ear to my statements : and one
of them. Rev. Mr. Neale, wrote back, un-
known to me, to Mr. Smith, inquiring of
him wlicther the statements made by me
were correct. After Mr. Neale received the
answer, he sent for me, informed me of liis
havincr written, and read to me the reply.

40 NARRATIVE.

The letter fully satisfied Mr. >.eale and his
friends. He placed it in my hands, remark-
ing that it would, in a great measure, do
away the necessity of using the other docu-
ments in my possession. I then, with that
letter in my hands, went out from house to
house, from place of busines to place of
business, and from church to church, re-
lating, where I could gain an ear, the same
heart-rending and soul-trying story which I
am now repeating to you. In pursuing that
course, the people, first one and then anoth-
er, contributed, until I had succeeded in
raising the amount alluded to, namely, thir-
teen hundred and eighty dollars. I may
have had contributions from abolitionists ;
but I did not stop to ask those who assist-
ed me whether they were anti-slavery or
pro-slavery, for I considered that the money
coming from either would accomplish the ob-
ject I had in view. These are the facts ; and
now, sir, it remains for you to say, whether
I have been giving abolition lectures or not.
In the course of my remarks, I presented
the letter of Mr. Smith to Mr. Neale, show-
ing that I had acted the open part while in
Massachusetts ; also I referred to my having
written to Mr. Smith, requesting him to ob-
tain for me the permit of the Governor ; and
I showed to the court Mr. Smith's letters in
reply, in order to satisfy them that I had
reason to believe 1 should be unmolested in
my return.

THE MOB, 41

Mr. Loriiig then whispered to some oi
the leading men ; after which he remarked
that he saw nothing in what I had done,
according to my statements, impUcating me
m a manner worthy of notice. He called
upon any present who might be in posses-
sion of information tending to disprove what
1 had said, or to show any wrong on my
part, to produce it, otherwise I should be set
at liberty. No person appeared against me ;
so I was discharged.

I started to leave the house : but just be-
fore I got to the door I met Mr. James
Litchford, who touched me on the shoulder,
and I followed him back. He observed to
me that if I went out of that room I should
in less than five minutes be a dead man ; for
there was a mob outside waiting to drink my
hfe. Mr. Lor in g then spoke to me again,
and said that notwithstanding I had been
found guilty of nothing, yet public opinion
was law; and he advised me to leave the
place the next day, otherwise he Avas con-
vinced I should have to suffer death. 1 re-
plied, '"'not to-morrow, but to-day." He
answered that I could not go that day, be-
cause I had not done my business. I told
him that I would leave my business in liis
hands and in those of other such gentlemen
as himself, who might settle it for me and
send my family to meet me at Philadelphia.
This was concluded upon, and a guard ap-
pomted to conduct me to the depot. I took

42 NARRATIVE.

my seat la tlic cars, when the mob that had
followed us sm-roiinded me, and declared
that the cars should not go, if 1 were per-
mitted to go in them. Mr. Loring mquired
what they wanted of me : he told them tliat
there had been an examination, and nothing
had been found against me: that they were
at the examination invited to speak if they
knew aught to condemn me, but they
had remained silent, and that now it was
but right I should be permitted to leave in
peace. They replied that they wanted a
more thorough investigation, that they wish-
ed to search my trunks (1 had but one trunk)
and see if [ was not in possession of aboli-
tion papers. It now became evident that
1 should be unable to get off in the cars ;
and my friends advised me to go the short-
est way possible to jail, for my safety.
They said they were persuaded that what
the rabble wanted was to get me into their
possession, and then to murder me. The
mob looked dreadfully enraged, and seemed
to lap for blood. The whole city was in an
uproar. But the first men and the more
wealtliy were my friends : and they did
everything in their power to protect me.
Mr. Boylan, whose name has repeatedly
occurred in this publication, Avas more than
a father to me; and ]Mr. Smith and Mr.
Loring, and many other gentlemen, whose
names it would give me pleasure to mention,
were exceedingly kind.

IN JAIL. 43

The guard then conducted me througii
the mob to the prison ; and I felt joyful that
even a prison could protect me. Looking
out from the prison window, I saw my
trunk in the hands of Messrs. Johnson, Scott,
and others, who were taking it to the City
Hall for examination. I understood after-
wards that they opened my trunk ; and as
the lid flew up, Lo ! a paper ! a paper ! !
Those about seized it, three or four at once,
as hungry dogs would a piece of meat after
forty days famine. But the meat quickly
turned to a stone ; for the paper it happened,
was one printed i?i Raleigh, and edited by
Weston R. Gales, a nice man to be sure,
but no abolitionist. The only other printed
or Avritten things in the trunk were some
business cards of a firm in Raleigh — not in-
cendiary.

Afterwards I saw from the window Mr.
Scott, accompanied by Mr. Johnson, lugging
my carpet-bag in the same direction my
trunk had gone. It was opened at the City.
Hall, and found actually to contain a pair
of old shoes, and a pair of old boots ! — but
they did not conclude that these were incen-
diary.

Mr. Smith now came to the prison and
told me that the examination had been com-
pleted, and nothing found against me; but
that it would not be safe for me to leave the
prison immediately. It was agreed that I
should remain in prison until after nightfall,

44' NARRATIVE.

and then steal secretly away, being let out
by the keeper, and pass unnoticed to the
house of my old and tried friend Mr. Boy-
Ian. Accordingly I was discharged between
nine and ten o'clock. I went by the back
way leading to Mr. Boy Ian' s : but soon and
suddenly a large company of men sprang
upon me, and instantly I foand myself in
their possession. They conducted me some-
times high above ground and sometimes
dragging me along, but as silently as possi-
ble, in the direction of the gallows, which is
always kept standing upon the Common, or
as it is called "the pines.'" or "piny old
field." I now expected to pass speedily into
the world of spirits ; I thought of that un-
seen region to which I seemed to be hasten-
mg ; and then my mind would return to my
wife and children, and the labors I had made
to redeem them from bondage. Although I
had the money to pay for them according to
a bargain already made, it seemed to me
some white man would get it, and they
would die in slavery, without benefit from
my exertions and the contributions of my
friends. Then the thought of my own
death, to occur in a few brief moments,
would rush over me, and I seemed to bid
adieu in spirit to all earthly things, and to
hold communion already with eternity. But
at length I observed those who were carry-
ing me away, changed their course a little
from the direct line to the gallows, and hope,

IN THE HANDS Oh THE MOB. 45

a laint beaming, sprung up within rue ; but
then as they were taking me to the woods,
[ thought tliey intended to murder me there,
ui a place where they would he less likely
to be interrupted than in so public a spot as
where the gallows stood. They conducted
me to a rising ground among the trees, and
set me down. •• Now,'' said they, " tell us
the truth about those abolition lectures you
have been giving at the north." I replied
that 1 had related the circumstances before
the court in the morning ; and could only
repeat what I had then said. "But that
was not the truth — tell ns the truth." 1
again said that any different story would be
false, and as I supposed I was in a few mhi-
utes to die, 1 would not, whatever they
might think 1 would say under other cir-
cumstances, pass into the other world with
a lie upon my hps. Said one, ''you were
always, Lunsibrd, when you were here, a
clever fellow, and I did not think you would
be engaged in such business as giving aboli-
tion lectures." To this and similar remarks,
I replied, that the people of Raleigh had al-
ways said the abolitionists did not believe in
buying slaves, but contended that their mas-
ters ought to free them without pay. I had
been laboring to buy my family ; and how
then could they suppose me to be in league
with the abolitionists?

After other conversation of this kind, and af-
ter they seemed to luive become tired of ques-

4ft NARRATIVE.

tioiiiiig me, they held a cousiiUalion in a low
\vhisper among themselves. Then a bucket
was brought and set down by my side ; but
what it contained, or lor what it was intend-
ed, I could not divine. But soon, one of the
number came forivard with a pillow, and
then hope sprung up, a flood of light and
joy within me. The lieavy weight on my
heart rolled off: death had passed by and I
unharmed. They conmienced stripping me
till every rag of clothes was removed ; and
then the bucket Vv^as set near, and I discov-
ered it to contain tar. One man, — I wi^^ do
him the honor to record his name,— -Mr.
WILLIAM ANDRES, a journeyman print-
er, when he is anything except a tar-and-
featherer, put his hands the first into the
bucket, and was about passing tliern t'^ my
face. •• Don"t put any in his face or eyes,''
said one.=^ So he desisted : but he, with
three other '• gentlemen,'' whcse names _I
should be happy to record if 1 could retM
them, gave me as nice a coat of tar all over,
face only excepted, as any one would wish
to see. Then they took the pillow and
ripped it open at one end, and with the open
end commenced the operation at the head
and so worked d^wnv/ards, of putting a coat

I

=* [ think tins was 3Ir. Bn.rns, a blacksmith in th'- jilaoc.
but I am not certain. At any rate, this man was my frictid
(if so he may be called,) on this occasion ; and it was tbr-
tunate for me that the company generally seemed to look
up to him. for wisdom.

TAR AND FEATHERS. 47

of Us contents over that of the contents of
the bucket. A fine escape from the hang-
ing this will be, thought 1, provided they do
not with a match set fire to the feathers. I
had some fear they would. But when the
work was completed they gave me my
clothes, and one of them handed me my
watch, which he had carefully kept in his
hands : they all expressed great interest in
my welfare, advised me how to proceed with
my business the next day, told me to stay
in the place as long as I wished, and with
oth such words of consolation they bid me
gooa night.

After I had returned to my family, to their
inexpressible joy, as they had become great-
ly alarmed for my safety, some of the per-
sonr who had participated in this outrage,
came in, (probably influenced by a curiosity
to see how the tar and feathers would be got
off,) and expressed great sympathy for me.
TI ey said they regretted that the aflair had
happened, — that they had no objections to my
living in Raleigh, — I might feel perfectly safe
to go out and transact my business prepara-
tory to leaving, — I should not be molested.

Slean while, my friends, understanding that
I had been discharged fron,, prison, and per-
ceiving I did not come to them, had com-
menced a regular search for me. on foot and
on horseback, everywhere ; and Mr. Smith
called upon the Governor to obtain his
official interference ; and after my return, a

48 NARRATIVE,

guard came to protect me : but 1 chose not
to risk myself at my own house, and so
went to Mr. Smith's, where this guard kept
me safely until morning. They seemed
friendly indeed, and were regaled with a
supper during the night by Mr. Smith. My
friend, Mr. Battle, (late Private Secretary to
the Governor.) was with them; and he made
a speech to them, setting forth the good qual-
ities I had exhibited in my past life, partic-
ularly in my connection with the Governor's
office.

In the morning, Mr. Boylan, true as ever,
and unflinching in his friendship, assisted
me in arranging my business, =^ so that I
should start with my family that day for the
north. He furnished us with provisions
more than sufficient to sustain the family to
Philadelphia, where we intended to make a
halt ; and sent his own baggage wagon to
convey our baggage to the depot, oftering
also to send his carriage for my family. But
my friend, Mr. Malone, had been before him
in this kind ofler, which I had agreed to ac-
cept.

Brief and sorrowful was the parting from

* Of course I was obliged to sacrifice much on my prop-
erty, leaving in this hurried manner. And while I was in
the" north, a kind friend had removed from the wood -lot
wood that 1 had cut and corded, for which I expected to
receive over one hundred dollars ; thus saving me the
trouble of making sale of it, or of being burdened with
the money it would bring. I suppose 1 have no redress.
1 might add other things as bad.

MY mother'^ freedom. 49

my kind Iriends ; but the worst was the
thought of leaving my mother. The cars
were to start at ten o'clock in the morning.
I called upon my old mistress, Mrs. Hay-
wood, Avho was afiected to weeping by the
considerations that jiaturally came to her
mind. She had been kind to me ; the day
before, she and her daughter, Mrs. Hogg,
now present, had jointly transmitted a com-
munication to the court, representing that in
consequence of my good conduct from my
youth, I could not be supposed to be guilty
of any otfence. And now, "with tears that
ceased not flowing," they gave me their
parting blessing. My mother was still Mrs.
Haywood's slave, and I her only child. Our
old mistress could not witness the sorrov/
that would attend the parting with my
mother. She told her to go with me ; and
said that if I ever became able to pay two
hundred dollars for her, I might ; otherwise
it should be her loss. She gave her the fol-
lowing paper, which is in the ordinary form

of a pass: Raleigh, N. C, April 26, 1842.

Know all Persons by these Presents, That the bearer of
this, Clarissa, a slave, belonging to me, hath my permission
to visit the city of New York with her relations, who are
in company with her ; and it is my desire that she may be
protected and permitted to pass without molestation or hin-
drance, on 2;ood behavior. Witness my hand this 26th
April, i«12.' ELEANOR HAYWOOD.

Witness — J. A. Camfbell.

On leaving Mrs. Haywood's, I called upon
Mrs. Badger, another daughter, and wife of

50 NARRATIVE.

Judge Badger, previously mentioned. She
seemed equally affected ; she wept as she
gave me her parting comisel. She and Mrs.
Hogg, and I, had been children together, play-
ing in the same yard, while yet none of us
had learned that they were of a superior and
I of a subject race. And in those infant years
there were pencillings made upon the heart,
which time and opposite fortunes could not
all efface. May these friends never be slaves
as I have been: nor their bosom companions
and their little ones be slaves like mine.

When the cars were about to start, the
whole city seemed to be gathered at the de-
pot; and, among the rest, the mobocratic por-
tion, who appeared to be determined still
that I should not go peaceably away. Ap-
prehending this, it had been arranged with
my friends and the conductor, that my fam-
ily should be put in the cars and that I
should go a distance from the city on foot,
and be taken up as they passed. The mob,
therefore, supposing that I was left behind,
allowed the cars to start.

Mr. Whiting, known as the agent of the
rail-road company, was going as far as Pe-
tersburg, V^a. : and he kindly assisted in pur-
chasing our tickets, and enabling us to pass
on unmolested. After he left, Capt. Guyan,
of Raleigh, performed the same kind office
as far as Alexandria, D. C, and then he
placed us in the care of a citizen of Phila-
delphia, whose nam.e I regret to have for-

RETURN TO THE NORTH, 51

gotten, who protected us quite out of the
land of slavery. But for this we should
have been liable to be detained at several
places on our way, much to our embarrass-
ment, at least, if nothing had occurred of a
more serious nature.

One accident only had happened : we lost
at Washington a trunk containing most of
our valuable clothing. This we have not
recovered ; but our lives have been spared
to bless the day that conferred freedom upon
us. I felt when my feet struck the pave-
ments in Philadelphia, as though I had
passed into another world. I could draw in
a full long breath, with no one to say to the
ribs, ''why do ye so?"

On reaching Philadelphia we found that
our money had all been expended, but kind
friends furnished us with the means of pro-
ceeding as far as New- York ; and thence we
were with equal kindness aided on to Boston.

In Boston and in the vicinity, are persons
almost without n^umber, who have done
me favors more than I can express. The
thought that I was now in my loved, though
recently acquired home — that my family
were with me where the stern, cruel, hated
hand of slavery could never reach us more —
the greetings of friends — the interchange of
feeling and sympathy — the kindness be-
stowed upon us, more grateful than rain to
the thirsty earth — the reflections of the past
that would rush into my mind, — these and

52 NARRATIVE.

more almost overwhelmed me with emotion,
and 1 had deep and strange communion
with my own soul. Next to God from
Avhom every good gift proceeds, I feel under
the greatest obligations to my kind friends
in Massachusetts. To be rocked in their
cradle of Liberty, — oh, liow unlike being
stretched on the pillory of slavery ! May
that cradle rock forever ; may many a poor
care-worn child of sorrow, many a spirit-
bruised (worse than lash-mangled) victim of
oppression, there sweetly sleep to the lullaby
of Freedom, sung by Massachusetts' sons and
daughters.

A number of meetings have been held
at which friends have contributed to our
temporal wants, and individuals have sent
us various articles of provision and furniture
and apparel, so that our souls have been truly
made glad. There are now ten of us in the
family, my wife, my mother, and myself,
with seven children, and we expect soon to
be joined by my father,»who several years
ago received his freedom by legacy. The
wine fresh from the clustering grapes never
filled so sweet a cup as mine. May I and
my family be permitted to drink it, remem-
bering whence it came !

BILLS OF SALK, 53

I SUPPOSE such of my readers as are not accustomed to
trade in human beings, may be curious to see the Bills ot
Sale, by which I have obtained the right to my wife and
children. They are both in the hand writing oX Mr. Smith.
The first — that for Laura — is as follows :

State of North Carolina, Wake County.

Know all Men by these Presents, That for and in con-
sideration of the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, to
me in hand paid, I have this day bargained and sold, and
do hereby bargain, sell and deliver, unto Lunsford Lane,
a free man of color, a certain negro girl by the name of
Laura, aged about seven years, and hereby warrant and
defend the right and title of the said girl to the said Luns-
ford and his heirs forever, free from the claims of all per-
sons whatsoever.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and
seal, at Raleigh, this 17th May, 1841.

B. B. SMITH, [Seal]
Witness — Robt. W. Haywood.

Below is the Bill of Sale for my wife and other six chil-
dren, to which the papers that follow are attached :

State of North Carolina, Wake County.

Know all Men by these Presents, That for and in con-
sideration of the sum of eighteen hundred and eighty dol-
lars, to me in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby
acknowledged, I have this day bargained, sold and dehv-
ered, unto Lunsford Lane, a free man of color, one dark
mulatto woman named Patsy, one boy named Edward,
one boy also named William, one boy also named Luns-
ford, one girl named Maria, one boy also named EUick,
and one girl named Lucy, to have and to hold the said ne-
groes free from the claims of all persons whatsoever.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand
and seal, this 25th day of April, 1812.

B. B. SMITH, [Seal]
Witness— Tu. L. West.

54 BILLS OF SALK. ^!. ^

State of North Carolina, Wake County.
Ofice of Court of Pleas ^ Quarter Sessio?is, Apr. 26, 1842.

The execution of the within Bill of Sale was this day
duly acknowledged before me, by B. B. Smith, the execu
tor of the same.

In Testimony whereof, I have hereunto aflBixed the seal

Tl s 1 °^ ^^'*^ Court, and subscribed my name at Office,

•^ ■ 'J in Raleigh, the date above.

JAS. T. MARRIOTT, Ckr^k.

State of North Carolina, Wake County.

I, William Boylan, presiding magistrate of the Court of
Pleas and Quarter Sessions for the County aforesaid, cer-
tify that Jas. T. Marriott, who has written and signed the
above certificate, is Clerk of the Court aforesaid, that the
same is in due form, and full faith and credit are due to
such his official acts.

Given under my hand and private seal, (having no seal
of office,) this 26ih day of April, 1842.

WM. BOYLAN,- P. M. [Seal.]

The State of North Carolina.
To all to 7vhom these Pr€S€?its shall come — Greeting :
Be it Known, That William Boylan, whose signature ap-
pears in his own proper hand writing to the annexed cer-
tificate, was, at tlie time of signing the same, and now is,
a Justice of the Peace and the Presiding Magistrate for the
County of Wake, in the State aforesaid, and as such he is
duly qualified and empowered to give such certificate,
which is here done in the usual and proper manner ; and
full faith and credit are due to the same, and ought to be
given to all the official acts of the said William Boylan, as
Presiding Magistrate aforesaid.

In Testimony whereof, I, J. M. Morehead, Governor,

Captain General and Commander in Chief, have

caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto

r ^ 1 affixed, and signed the same, at the city of Ra-

•^ ■ ■ ■•' leigh, on the 26th day of April, in the year of our

Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two,

and in the sixty-sixth year of the Independence

of the United States. J. M. MOREHEAD-

Bi/ the Govermr.

P, Rfa'not.ds. Private Secretarv.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

0 012 026 158 7